Web Usability

Stunning visuals aside, the true mark of a good website design lies in its usability. According to Usability.gov, a US government’s guideline portal on developing user-centred websites, good web designs ‘facilitate and encourage efficient and effective human-computer interaction’. A user-centred website enhances user experience.

Some of the key points to note according to Smith (2010) are:

·        Use of grid for website structure

·        Search box availability

·        Make navigation easy to read with commonly identifiable logo use.

·        Create a contact page, with email address and a simple contact form.

·        Collect data and generate reports by utilizing UX applications – that is, User  
      Experience measurement tools such as Clicktale, CrazyEgg, Feedback Army, Google  
      Analytics, etc.

·        Organized sidebars free of clutter.

·        Check browser compatibility of website – Opera, Internet Explorer version 6, 7 &
      8, Chrome, Firefox, Safari, etc.

·        Consistency in page design and structure to maintain web identity and familiarity
      for users.

·        Enable content printing - add a ‘Print-friendly version’.

·        Avoid overcrowding and keep small spaces minimalist to aid focus on important
      stuff.

·        Include breadcrumbs for ease of navigation.

·        Use colour and contrast to shift focus and emphasize importance.

·        Checks for broken links and images. A free broken-link-checker tool is iwebtool.

·        Make use of footers – add search box, subscription, interesting articles or quotes, or   coming-soon announcements.

    Usability.gov guidelines include:

·         Minimize page download time by reducing bytes per page. Provide feedback when users must wait.

·         Avoid displaying unsolicited windows or graphics (Ahmadi, 2000 cited in Usability.gov).

·         Standardize task sequences and reduce users workload by making use of technology – eg add a calculator.

·         Increase website credibility with links, FAQs, articles with citations and references, provide archive posts, etc. (Fogg, 2002 and Nielsen, 2003 cited in Usability.gov).

·         Use users’ terminology in help documentation (Scanlon and Schroeder, 2000 cited in Usability.gov)

·         Format information for reading and printing so that readers may print off content for long articles which involve tedious scrolling (Shaikh and Chaparro, 2004 cited in usability.gov).

Above all, prototyping, interaction design, information architecture and visual design are to be considered for optimized user experience. As Nielsen (2009) described it, web usability is really a ‘matter of balance’.

Related readings

Anybody Can Do Usability

Eye Tracking and Web Usability: A Good Fit?

User Experience and the iPhone – 7 user experience lessons from the iphone

Usability.gov – A US government web-design guideline for developing usable and useful Web sites

Reference

Usability.gov n.d., US Department of Health and Human Services, Washington DC, viewed 16 October 2010, <http://www.usability.gov/pdfs/chapter2.pdf>

Nielsen, J 2009, Anybody can do usability, Jakob Nielsen’s Alertbox 21 December 2009, viewed 17 October 2010,  <http://www.useit.com/alertbox/anybody-usability.html>

Smith, M 2010, 18 Dos and Don’ts of Usability on the Web, SpyreStudios, 3 May 2010, viewed 16 October 2010, <http://spyrestudios.com/dos-and-donts-of-usability/>

Image source: http://stevejencks.files.wordpress.com/2008/07/usability.jpg